


Save The Lieutenant, Save The World

by notabadday



Category: Chicago Fire
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-24
Updated: 2015-04-24
Packaged: 2018-03-25 11:49:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3809302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notabadday/pseuds/notabadday
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set in the current timeline (mid-late S3), similar events to 2x10 transpire. Gaby saves the day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Save The Lieutenant, Save The World

Boden yells, "Everybody out!" in such a roar that it's instinct to obey. Dawson runs out behind Herrman, who is weighed down by the body of a young boy. Though there's smoke in the air, she can see his little fingers clinging to the shoulder of Herrman's jacket, knuckles white.

Brett runs over to them, taking the boy from Herrman, and it is then that Dawson realizes that they're outside. They're safe. It's done.

"Casey! Report! Casey! Report!" Boden repeats. What at first sounds like white noise forms a red alert in her mind before she can even pull her mask off. She looks at Boden as he explodes into his radio, sees Herrman struggling to catch his breath and Otis, Cruz, Mouch all in a similar predicament. Without a thought, she runs back through the smoke-filled doorway.

Back into the fire, Dawson trudges determinedly to the upstairs bedroom that Casey had been checking. She is forced to dodge falling debris as the building begins to descend, her hat proving its worth many times over. As soon as she's halfway in, she begins yelling, "Casey! Call out!" Nothing.

Precariously, she manages to get up the stairs but momentarily wonders if they'll still be there when she comes back. Not that it makes a difference. It's Casey. There's no going back. Besides, after all they've been through, she has the illusion of invincibility on her side, pumping adrenaline through her body as she charges urgently into the bedroom.

He's unconscious when she gets to him, his leg trapped under a part of a disassembled wardrobe. Grabbing her radio, she hears a crunch before firmly stating, "Got Casey, chief." Dawson doesn't stop for the reply, instead lifting him out and picking him up by locking her arms under his.

The deadweight of Casey's body combined with his gear makes for heavy work as Dawson drags him onto the landing and prepares to manage the stairs. Just as she reaches the top step, she sees Herrman waiting for her at the bottom. He looks ready to take Casey from her but some desperate part of her doesn't dare let him go. She allows Herrman to share the weight but refuses to give him up. By the time they're outside, the paramedics are ready for them. Brett seems to have passed off the victims to other paramedics and is keenly waiting with a gurney when the firefighters stumble out.

Casey's mask is pulled off him and it's a flashback to her worst memory. Dawson can't make out whether he's conscious now as he's bundled into the ambo. She pulls her own mask off, and takes in a huge breath of air. She exhales with his name, never noticing the tears have mixed with blood and soot on her cheeks. The only thing in focus is Casey. Brett speaks but her words are lost on Dawson; the reply is unspoken: save him.

She climbs in the back and they're moving before she can even take a seat, with sirens on full blast while Brett assesses his injuries. Dawson feels empty, like she's been drained of every drop of life. She attempts to help but her own situation limits her contribution somewhat, prompting Brett to gently say, "You've done your bit, Dawson. He'll be okay. We got this."

 

* * *

 

  
"What you did today was well beyond the call of duty. You risked your life to save your lieutenant. Impressive work, candidate," Boden says warmly, with a gentle drawl to soften every syllable.

Dawson is silent.

"You are free to leave shift. I think we can manage without our hero of the hour." He adds an approving nod to punctuate their conversation, before watching Dawson determinedly march off down the hallway.

As she walks through the firehouse, the guys from squad, truck and ambo all cheer. Confirming himself leader of the group, Herrman buoyantly tells her, "Good work today, candidate!"

They all know where she's going. They were surprised she had restraint enough to come back to the firehouse at all. Mouch, Otis and Severide all insist that she sends Casey their well wishes. She doesn't linger, despite her newfound popularity, instead continuing to walk purposefully back to her car. 

 

* * *

 

Dawson enters the hospital room apprehensively; a part of her still expects someone else to come in and claim him, but there's no one else. The room is quiet. Briefly a nurse stops by to check that one of the wires plugged into Casey is doing what it's supposed to but she says nothing, offering only a polite smile. Casey's sister will probably come at some point and offer her heartfelt though fleeting concern. And Severide is too aware of their situation to provide interruption; he made up some excuse as soon as Dawson got back, before finding a copy of Cosmo to read in the waiting area. The 51 guys have all been in at one time or other, proving what was never in doubt. 51 is the only family Casey can count on. It's 51 and Dawson.

Despite knowing the distance everyone's allowing her, the feeling that someone is going to come in and take him away from her persists. It's as though as soon as she reaches out to touch him, to speak, they'll come in and interrupt, taking the words right out of the air. Her head is heavy with the many unsaids that have determined their relationship, whether held back or interrupted.

For a while, as she lingers in the no man's land between the door and his bed, he doesn't notice her. Casey seems only half-conscious until her boot squeaks quietly against the linoleum and he turns his head to look at her. He watches as she forces the corners of her mouth to lift, though it hardly makes for a smile.

"How are you feeling?" Dawson asks, hesitation separating each word.

"Alive." Casey looks at her, studies her face like there's a test coming. He watches relief wash over her at even his laconic response, her shoulders dropping suddenly. Any word would do. And right now, for Dawson, "alive" is just about the best damn word she can think of. He watches as she bites her bottom lip before her head bows, hair dropping in front of her face, obscuring his view. "Gabby?" he asks, no longer able to read her.

She looks up, taking a deep breath, and her eyes have changed. Her lashes are heavy with tears that she's fighting; she blinks, over and over. "Please just," she pauses, pleading for his full attention, "don't ever die."

"Gabby," he sighs, before coughing weakly.

"I didn't risk my life for my lieutenant today; I risked my life because I can't imagine it without you in it." She speaks firmly.  "I just wanted you to know that. Can't lose you, Matt."

"You won't," he assures her, as though it's a promise he can make.

Dawson steps closer to his bedside, perching on the side of it to lean down and hold him for a moment. She doesn't wait for his invitation, though she relaxes at his encouragement. She needs to feel his chest against her head, the sensation of its rise and fall providing reassurance. The sound of his heartbeat.

It's just superficial injuries, that's all. But the memory of his weight in her arms makes her skin tingle, her muscles still aching from the exertion. At the time, she'd felt nothing; adrenaline had carried him - adrenaline or fear or Dawson's unrelenting determination. It is only now, as she relaxes against Casey, that she feels the physical trauma of it wash over her.

As he brings his other hand up to her shoulder, he feels her flinch. "Are you hurt?"

"A little, I guess," she says, brushing him off.

"Have you been checked out?"

"Yeah, it's bruises. It's nothing," Dawson insists dismissively, allowing herself to shut off for a minute in his arms. In a moment of sudden self-awareness, she says, "Listen, I know things between us are complicated right now but," she moves a hand across his chest, "can I just lie with you, here, for a little while?"

"Absolutely."

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this. Feedback's always greatly appreciated.


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